Page 101 of The Never List
Maybe I’ve spent enough time with Pierce for that old worry to be soothed, or maybe I’ve settled into my role aschosen a little more than I thought I would. Either way, I have no hesitation being with Pierce alone now. I know I’ll see Axl and Kal soon, so missing them won’t sting as badly.
Pierce gives Mirren a nod from where she stands behind me, then reaches his hand out to me.
“Come,” he says, beckoning me into his estate. I slide my hand into his, sighing at the connection. “I fear this is not the welcome I wanted to give you,” he says as he leads me through the front doors of something much quainter than the other two Legends’ homes I’ve seen so far.
It’s still magnificent, but it’s smaller than the others’ mansions. Cozier, almost like a luxury cottage set among lush green trees and grass. It’s tucked away, nothing but silence save for the sounds of nature around for miles.
Inside is warm and rich, the home filled with comfy furniture, soft lighting, and all sorts of books and scrolls and parchments and knickknacks in every corner, making the home lived-in and cozy as opposed to crowded and uncomfortable.
“I’ve drawn you a bath,” Pierce continues as he leads me up the stairs and into what I can only assume is his bedroom. His scent is all over the space.
I only get to glance at it before he walks me into the bathing chamber. The smell of something floral wafts on the steam from the full bath set into the floor, tucked against a pair of grand windows open to the elements and letting in the crisp pine scent from trees. Light dawns from the sun breaking over the sky.
“You did this for me?” I ask, smiling at the tub filled with bubbles, the wax candles burning to give the chamber a soft glow that is beyond relaxing.
“I did,” he says, tapping his temple with his free hand. “While we said goodbye to Mirren.”
My eyes flare in wonder. The depth of his power never ceases to amaze me. And this is only a portion of what it could be…
He rubs his thumb over the back of my hand where he holds it. “I assumed after last night’s events, and the fact that neither of us slept, we’ll need to table the little flirtation we had on Axl’s ship. Now my most pressing concern is ensuring that you’re well kept, well fed, and well rested.”
I swallow around the emotion in my throat. Kal and Axl gave such importance to my well-being, too, but I’m still overcome by the gesture each time. Maybe it’s because I’m not used to such luxuries or kindness, or maybe it’s because my baser instincts are still terrified I’ll wake up and this will all be an act. That they’re treating me so well for a chance to magnify their power…despite everything in my heart countering those fears.
“I’ll come check on you in a little bit,” he says, leaning close to plant a soft kiss on my cheek before he heads out of the bathing chamber and closes the door behind him.
I don’t waste time, shedding my battle-weary clothes and stepping into the deep tub, sighing as the hot water soothes the exhaustion I can feel in my bones.
I settle back against one of the benches that’s built into the tub, stretching out because it’s big enough to hold five people, let alone just me.
“Pierce,” I call out, somehow knowing I don’t need to yell for him to hear me.
“Yes, darling?” he answers from just outside the door.
“Will you come in here?”
Pierce opens the door almost timidly, his eyes finding me in the tub easily, noting the massive array of bubbles covering my body beneath the water.
“This truly is divine,” I say, my heart fluttering in my chest. I motion to the water. “I know you must be just as exhausted as I am, even with all the power you have. Why don’t you join me?”
He tilts his head just slightly. “Do youwantme to join you?”
“Yes,” I say, meaning it with my whole heart. “I’m not saying I have the energy to properly satisfy you right now,” I hurry to admit. “And I don’t think you have that energy, either. I’m completely on board with making sure we’re fed and rested before we cross that line, but this bath is certainly big enough for both of us. There’s really no point for you to wait when I know you have to be craving the warm water just as much as me.”
“When you put it that way,” he says, and I nod.
He slowly sheds his dress shirt, his jacket already discarded somewhere I didn’t see. And when he goes for his pants, I do the polite thing and turn around. After all, he didn’t stay for the show ofmeundressing, and I can’t help the butterflies that take flight in my stomach when I hear him breach the water, feel the ripples from his movement brush against my skin.
“You’re safe to turn around now,” he says, amusement drenching his tone. “Though you would have been welcome to look.”
I smile and bite my lip as I turn and reclaim my seat on the bench, finding him on the opposite side.
My heart stutters in my chest. The sight of him leaningagainst the bath, his arms outstretched, soft glittering bubbles caressing his brown skin, is enough to steal my breath. But it’s the weariness in his eyes, the ones usually filled with such intelligence and calculation, that has me frowning.
“I am sorry,” I say.
His brow furrows. “Why would you be sorry?”
I blow out a breath, doing my best not to think of every reason I have to be sorry—the things I’m hiding from them, my inability to offer them much help with their obstacles—and focus on what is known.
